New Paltz grad Culver gunning for Olympics

Wednesday

Jul 24, 2013 at 2:00 AM

Eric Culver swam what is still a personal-best time of 2:03.79 in the 200-meter butterfly at the 2009 Junior National meet in Federal Way, Wash., the summer before his senior year of high school at New Paltz.

WILLIAM MONTGOMERY

Eric Culver swam what is still a personal-best time of 2:03.79 in the 200-meter butterfly at the 2009 Junior National meet in Federal Way, Wash., the summer before his senior year of high school at New Paltz.

Earning a spot on the Puerto Rican national team has been a personal goal ever since.

Culver, who is about to enter his senior year at the University at Buffalo, is currently tuning up for the U.S. Open Swimming Championships that begin July 30 at the University of California, Irvine.

After that, and his senior season at Buffalo, Culver plans on moving to Puerto Rico to train and qualify for a spot in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

"It's always been in the back of my mind since 2009," Culver said of the Olympics. "It kind of drifted away a little bit, but I have started to think more and more about it. I really want to do it now. It's a pretty big goal. It's something I'm passionate about."

Culver still holds the Section 9 record in the 500-yard freestyle (4:33.82), but he's seen the 200 butterfly become his best event in college. He placed second in the 200-yard butterfly with a 1:48.51 at the Mid-American Conference championships in March in Carbondale, Ill. He finished third in the 400 IM and eighth in the 500 freestyle.

Thanks to his strong junior season, Culver, a team captain, qualified for a spot at the U.S. Open in the 200-meter butterfly. He's hoping to use this meet as a way to get his senior campaign off to a good start.

"Later down the road, I really do want to focus more on Puerto Rico, but not at this meet," Culver said. "I really want to gear toward getting a best time and show that I still have stuff out there for me. I'm really just focusing on my last year in college. I want to go to a big meet full of confidence and be able to go into my last year and know I can thrown down at the MAC championships and get a best time and win an individual MAC championship title and possibly go to NCAAs."

Culver's mother, Annette Lopez-Culver, was born in Puerto Rico, making Culver eligible for the Puerto Rican national team. Earning a spot won't be easy. The qualifying time for the 200-meter butterfly in the 2012 Olympics was 1:56.86.

In the meantime, he finds himself keeping in touch with high school swimmers in New Paltz, offering tips and advice. Culver, who is majoring in English and minoring in coaching, is also looking forward to a career in coaching once his swimming days are over.

"What I want to do is train and see how far I can go in swimming and then come back to New York and look for coaching jobs," he said. "I know I can't just jump on the horse and expect to go, but what I really want to do is coach a little bit of high school and slowly go up the ladder and possibly coach Division I swimming and diving."